Get Out of the Way
by Toaofwriting
Summary: Big spoilers for the End of Time, Part 2. Don't read if you haven't seen it. During the final showdown of the Time Lords, we watched the Doctor struggle with a hard decision. But what was the Master thinking and feeling as he watched his old friend and enemy during that scene? NO SLASH. Rated T to be safe, because of what happened in that scene and minor cursing.


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"Choose your enemy well," Rassilon growls. "We are many. The Master is but one."

You stand there, watching in (not that you'll ever admit it) awe, as your old friend/enemy stares down the barrel of a gun towards Rassilon. Not something you'd ever thought he'd see, but then, today you've seen a whole planet's population become yourself, alien cacti, and the Time Lords restored to their former glory.

"But he's the _President," _you say, almost eagerly. "Kill him, and _Gallifrey _could be yours!"

The Doctor ignores you for a few moments, and then suddenly spins around, the gun now pointing at you.

"He's to blame, not me!" you insist. You're almost scared: In all the centuries you've known each other, you've practically never seen him even touch a gun, let alone point one at someone with intent to kill. Right here, right now, the Doctor is much closer to you than he (or you) would be comfortable with, and you know that there is little or nothing to stop him from gunning you down in cold blood. And then you realize something.

"Oh, of course," you say, smiling ironically. "The link is inside my head. Shoot me, the link is broken, and they all go back. You never would. You _coward._"

The drums are roaring, pounding. You see him tensing, his finger beginning to curl around the trigger. "Go on, then," you say. "Do it."

Maybe he will. Maybe he will shoot you and end the drums and the torment and the insanity once and for all. Maybe it might not be so bad. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Rassilon slowly lowering his glove, but most of your attention is focused on that small black barrel. Having fallen from a mighty Time Lord to a renegade to being stuck in a burning-out, dying body stripped of grandeur and status and power, it might even be best if your old friend were to end it all. But he's still too weak to shoot someone in cold blood. You shake your head a little. He spins around again, but you're still not safe.

"The final acts of your life will be murder, Doctor. But which one of us?"

But as you stand behind the Doctor, waiting for your old friend/enemy to make a decision, you notice a movement. One of the Time Lords on the side, standing in the pose of a Weeping Angel (Rassilon always did have a sick sense of humor), is lowering her hands to reveal her face. It's _her_. Of course it is. And from the way the old man gapes at her, it's obvious that he recognizes her too: She was probably meddling, sending messages to him, making sure that everyone was in the right time and place. You're not surprised. At least, not by that. But you are surprised when she meets the Doctor's gaze, and she looks tearfully from him to yourself. You know that he is grief-stricken, that he's struggling not to cry, and wonder yet again at how far you two have come from those boys who ran across the orange fields. He spins around once more, gun pointing at you. There is silence for ten heartbeats, the drums louder than ever before, matching your heartbeats, and you know that this is it. Then he speaks.

"Get out of the way."

You look around. And smile, because it is so typical of him: The third of two options, which most wouldn't have even spoted, the one where no one has to die. At least, not by this Doctor's hand. You dive out of the way, and there's an explosion.

"The link is broken!" yells the Doctor triumphantly. "Back into the Time War, Rassilon! Back into Hell!"

You watch as the Time Lords begin to fade away. But that snake isn't going to let things go so easily. Rassilon raises his gauntlet, and it begins to glow again.

"You die with me, Doctor," he snarls.

And instead of making some proud, noble, heroic protest, your old friend simply stands there and says, "I know."

No. Because he was your friend and your best enemy and the one man in the whole of time and space who could equal you, you are _not _going to stand idly by and let that monster destroy the one you realize isn't a coward at all, but a far braver man than you've ever been. But instead of saying all of that, you rise to your feet and gather your energies one last time.

"Get out of the way."

He looks back at you, astonished, but as you pull back your arm, he understands, and you unleash a bolt of energy upon Rassilon, carrying with it all of the death, destruction, pain, and loss that you've caused. Not only is he a monster, but he turned you into one, and by hell, you _WILL _make him pay.

"YOU MADE ME!" you bellow, unleashing your retribution. "ALL OF MY LIFE! ONE!"

Destruction.

"TWO!"

Death.

"THREE!"

Pain.

"FOUR!"

Loss.

And the Earth returns to normal, and Gallifrey falls, and a villain is redeemed, and there is silence and peace, where the once-again Last of the Time Lords has been saved by his best enemy for the last time.

Until there come four knocks.


End file.
